00:00Disappointing news, unemployment is up, biggest number since Covid.
00:07There are challenges in the labour market but over the year 329,000 more people are in work,
00:15real wages are up and the rate of economic inactivity is down over the year so the British
00:21economy is still generating jobs. We want to do more to help, that's why we've announced
00:26a youth guarantee to help young unemployed people in particular and why last week we published an
00:32important report to work with employers to help the long-term sick and disabled stay and work.
00:40Let's talk about young people and their relationship with the Labour Party and your policies.
00:48You're putting taxes up essentially for young people yet keeping the triple log at the other end of the
00:55demographic spectrum. What is in it for young people to continue to support labour?
01:00Well I'm particularly concerned about the growth over the past five years of the number of young
01:07people not in employment, education or training and in response to that we've done a few things.
01:14We have announced a youth guarantee which will offer every person aged 18 to 21 the chance of a
01:21training place, an apprenticeship or ultimately a subsidised job. We are doubling the number of
01:27youth hubs which exist around the country to help young employed people into work but I've also
01:32commissioned former Health Secretary Alan Milburn to do a specific report on young people and work
01:39because I want to do more to expand young people's opportunities.
01:43We're all expecting an interesting budget and obviously I don't expect you to run the rule on
01:52exactly what's going to be in it because well you probably don't quite know yet. But on the one hand
01:58there's costs on the other hand there's earnings. When are you going to start cutting the benefits bill?
02:05Well we want to get more people into work that's why we've announced a youth guarantee. We've put legislation
02:13through Parliament to narrow the gap between standard unemployment rates and long-term sickness rates
02:21and importantly we're also putting a lot more employment support in to help the long-term unemployed,
02:27people that have been away from the labour market through sickness which is an increasing feature
02:32of the labour market and expanding the number of youth hubs to help the young unemployed into work. So
02:37we're taking a much more active approach to this than has been in the case and I believe that that
02:42employment support is really important to getting people into work and spending less on benefits in
02:48the long term. I want to ask you about the BBC, a big story that is convulsing everyone around here
02:56and has been over the last few days. Would you be comfortable with taxpayers money going to fund a
03:03legal challenge against Donald Trump or indeed paying him compensation?
03:08Well the BBC will have to respond to the comments made by the President and his lawyers. What I would
03:16say is when the BBC gets things wrong it should say that and it should correct its mistakes but I don't
03:23think in any of this we should lose sight of how important the BBC is as a public service broadcaster. It's
03:30a really important part of the media landscape. It does take its standards seriously and I believe it's a much
03:37valued UK institution. People say there has been a political tussle behind the scenes which has caused
03:46this. Some have called it a coup. Do you think Robbie Gibb should be removed from the board?
03:53I don't appoint the BBC board. It's not a matter for me. What I would say is it's really important in all the
04:00controversy about the BBC that we've seen in recent days to remember that this is a hugely important
04:06public service broadcaster. I still believe it's a much trusted institution. I think it's a huge asset
04:13to the UK and I want it to come out of this stronger in the future. Do you think there's been a coup?
04:21Well I don't know what's been going on inside the BBC. I know it's had a difficult few days
04:26but like much of the rest of the British public I hugely value it as a trusted source of information
04:34and news. I think it has a positive influence on the rest of the UK media environment so I hope that
04:42we continue to have a strong and trusted BBC for many years to come. Is Samir Shah the correct person
04:48to stay in the role of chair? Well I'm not appointing or not appointing anyone to that. There's already been
04:56some turbulence at the top of the BBC. I don't want to add to that. The important thing for me is not
05:01one individual or another. It's that this institution is a big part of the UK. It's a really important
05:08asset for the UK. It has people who will constantly attack it. It probably always does reports that might
05:17annoy some of us one way or another but we should see through that and remember the value of the BBC to
05:23British journalism.
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